On Sunday, former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz slammed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for refusing to meet with him during his time at the position until he retired last year.
Ortiz’s comments were made during an interview on CBS News’s “60 Minutes” as the United States faces a record-breaking illegal immigration crisis that began under Biden and has continuously worsened each year.
“When agencies are making a decision based upon politics or whether they’re gonna get media coverage, hey, we’re gonna put all our personnel in this two-mile stretch,” he said. “What about the other 200 miles?”
“I’ve never had one conversation with the president,” Ortiz said. “Or the vice president, for that matter. And so I was the chief of the border patrol. I commanded 21,000 people. That’s a problem.”
When the reporter said that they witnessed dozens of illegal immigrants enter the country, Ortiz responded, “We need to make sure that Central America, South America, Mexico, that those regions understand that if you pay a smuggler and you cross in between the ports of entry and you do not have a legitimate claim to some sort of asylum benefit, you’re gonna be sent back.”
When asked if the Biden administration has sent “mixed messages to migrants,” he said: “Yeah, most definitely.”
"I've never had one conversation with the president or the vice president for that matter… That's a problem,” says Raul Ortiz, the U.S. Border Patrol chief under President Biden until he retired last year. pic.twitter.com/bWoZkFbnVc
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 4, 2024
